1980–81 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1980–81 season
Chairman	Arthur MacPherson (until October) Don Ratcliffe (October onwards)
Manager	John McGrath
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Fourth Division	19th (39 Points)
FA Cup	Third Round
League Cup	First Round
Player of the Year	Russell Bromage
Top goalscorer	League: Mark Chamberlain/Neville Chamberlain (9) All: Neville Chamberlain (13)
Highest home attendance	7,722 vs. Burnley (16 December 1980)
Lowest home attendance	2,091 vs. Torquay United (6 October 1980)
Average home league attendance	2,738
Home colours
← 1979–80 1981–82 →

The 1980–81 season was Port Vale's 69th season of football in the Football League, and their third successive season (ninth overall) in the Fourth Division.^[1] A difficult season, by February the club were bottom of the Football League. However, they rallied to finish in nineteenth place, thus avoiding a re-election campaign. Advancing to the Third Round of the FA Cup, there they were humiliated by a 3–0 defeat to non-league side Enfield in front of the TV cameras. As usual, they exited the League Cup at the First Round. Despite poor crowd figures and a poor league place, John McGrath had overseen the worst of the club's dire spell, whilst new Chairman Don Ratcliffe stabilized the finances by cutting expenditure. Also the Chamberlain brothers (Mark and Neville) were developing nicely.

Overview

Fourth Division

The pre-season saw John McGrath sign two news players – Leicester City's John Allen and Stoke City's Trevor Brissett.^[1] These newcomers were all the Vale could afford, and Vale ominously failed to win any of their pre-season friendlies.^[1] The club also received a £600 fine for the disciplinary record of the previous season (by now an annual occurrence).^[1]

The season opened with a 3–0 win over Doncaster Rovers, but then Vale travelled to Roots Hall, where they were beaten 5–1 by Southend United.^[1] This defeat was the first of a run of six games in which the "Valiants" picked up just a solitary point.^[1] The Vale consistently lost away from home, but turned Vale Park into a fortress with four successive wins in Burslem.^[1] Despite this, attendances remained barely above 2,000.^[1] Injuries piled up; Gerry Keenan with ligament damage, Steve Jones with a collarbone injury, whereas Paul Bowles played on despite being overweight.^[1] The club in the re-election zone, unable to attract fans, and losing £1,000 a week, Arthur MacPherson resigned as Chairman on 2 October, and was replaced by Don Ratcliffe.^[1] Mark Chamberlain was then utilized, and scored four goals in his first four games and also created goals for others.^[1] Former top-flight winger Johnny Miller then joined the club after his release from Mansfield Town.^[1] Miller's crossing ability had not diminished, and he became a key player.^[1] Young keeper Mark Harrison in good form, McGrath felt able to sell Trevor Dance to Stafford Rangers for £10,000.^[1] Their upturn in form tailed off, and their 4–0 defeat at Plainmoor on 5 November was played in front of a then Torquay United record-low crowd of 1,227 fans.^[1] A 1–0 victory over Southend United was the only win in a sequence of fourteen league games.^[1]

In December, John Rudge was upgraded from coach to assistant manager.^[1] However, poor league form continued; on 27 December Vale lost 5–1 to Northampton Town at the County Ground, and Phil Sproson was sent off for swearing at teammate Russell Bromage.^[1] More away defeats came, with the Vale defence insistent on playing dangerous balls on the outside of their penalty area.^[1] On 24 January, they lost 5–0 at Field Mill to Mansfield Town, this left them at the foot of the league, four points adrift of safety.^[1] McGrath brought in two new signings: big defender Andy Higgins from Chesterfield and midfielder Terry Armstrong.^[1] He also signed keeper Brian Lloyd on loan from Chester City, and the former Wales international proved to be a revelation.^[1] McGrath then installed a five-man defence away from home, the tactic proved a success, as Vale avoided defeat in all but two of their final eight away games.^[1] Vale went on a streak of seven games unbeaten, recording a 4–0 win over fellow strugglers Hereford United.^[1] On 26 April, the club started a club-record run of six consecutive draws, which would end on 12 September the next season. Their goalless draw with Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road assured them of safety from re-election.^[1]

They finished nineteenth place with 39 points, three points clear of the re-election places.^[1] For the third consecutive season they had conceded seventy goals, and only Tranmere Rovers and Halifax Town conceded more.^[1] The Chamberlain brothers were the top scorers in the league with nine goals, whilst Neville scored thirteen in all competitions.^[1] McGrath said "it has taken time, but the attitude [of the team] is slowly changing."^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a £12,496 loss was announced.^[1] Income was supplemented by an intake of £174,890 from the commercial department.^[1] An average home attendance of 2,738 was the lowest since the club regained their Football League status in 1921. Nevertheless, spending had been slashed to bring finances under control.^[1] Six players left at the end of the season on free transfers, most significantly: Neil Griffiths (Crewe Alexandra), Steve Jones, Alan Woolfall (Marine), and John Allen (Hinckley Athletic).^[1] Loanee Lloyd also returned to his club, despite the fans demands to sign him up.^[1] Kenny Beech was sold to Walsall for £10,000.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale advanced past Bradford City with a 4–2 win, the Chamberlain brothers in deadly form.^[1] "Bantams" manager George Mulhall said "it could have been ten!".^[1] With Harrison injured, Vale then used Derby County loanee keeper Steve Cherry in a 'magnificent' 1–1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor.^[1] Vale then finished off the Third Division outfit at home with a 2–0 win in front of a season-high crowd of 7,722.^[1] Drawn against Isthmian League side Enfield in the Third Round, they drew 1–1 at Vale Park before they 'died in shame' with a 3–0 defeat in the replay.^[1] This was the first time the Vale had been knocked out of the competition by a non-league club since Gainsborough Trinity beat them 2–1 in 1937.^[1] Port Vale were Enfield's third scalp of the season after Barnsley and Hereford United. The loss came in front of the television cameras, and was particularly humiliating as Enfield's keeper had a quiet afternoon and Cherry gifted Enfield their second goal with a horrible miskick.^[1]

In the League Cup, Neville Chamberlain scored after only fifty seconds in a 3–2 home defeat by Tranmere Rovers.^[1] Vale then beat 1–0 at Prenton Park to exit the competition on away goals.^[1]

Final league table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Southend United	46	30	7	9	79	31	+48	67
2	Lincoln City	46	25	15	6	66	25	+41	65
3	Doncaster Rovers	46	22	12	12	59	49	+10	56
4	Wimbledon	46	23	9	14	64	46	+18	55
5	Peterborough United	46	17	18	11	68	54	+14	52
6	Aldershot	46	18	14	14	43	41	+2	50
7	Mansfield Town	46	20	9	17	58	44	+14	49
8	Darlington	46	19	11	16	65	59	+6	49
9	Hartlepool United	46	20	9	17	64	61	+3	49
10	Northampton Town	46	18	13	15	65	67	-2	49
11	Wigan Athletic	46	18	11	17	51	55	-4	47
12	Bury	46	17	11	18	70	62	+8	45
13	Bournemouth	46	16	13	17	47	48	-1	45
14	Bradford City	46	14	16	16	53	60	-7	44
15	Rochdale	46	14	15	17	60	70	-10	43
16	Scunthorpe United	46	11	20	15	60	69	-9	42
17	Torquay United	46	18	5	23	55	63	-8	41
18	Crewe Alexandra	46	13	14	19	48	61	-13	40
19	Port Vale	46	12	15	19	57	70	-13	39
20	Stockport County	46	16	7	23	44	57	-13	39
21	Tranmere Rovers	46	13	10	23	59	73	-14	36
22	Hereford United	46	11	13	22	38	62	-24	35
23	Halifax Town	46	11	12	23	44	71	-27	34
24	York City	46	12	9	25	47	66	-19	33

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A
Result	W	L	L	D	L	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	L	W	D	L	D	L	D	W	L	D	D	L	L	L	L	L	D	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	D	D	L	W	D	L	D	D	D
Position	2	8	17	16	20	21	21	22	24	18	22	19	16	20	17	17	17	18	20	21	17	21	21	21	22	22	22	23	24	23	22	22	22	22	21	20	19	19	19	20	19	19	19	20	20	19

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Fourth Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
16 August 1980	Doncaster Rovers	H	3–0	2,846	Jones, Griffiths, N.Chamberlain
18 August 1980	Southend United	A	1–5	4,190	N.Chamberlain
23 August 1980	Wimbledon	A	0–1	1,775
30 August 1980	Mansfield Town	H	0–0	2,558
6 September 1980	Wigan Athletic	A	0–1	4,666
13 September 1980	Aldershot	H	0–1	2,370
15 September 1980	Stockport County	A	1–2	3,480	N.Chamberlain
20 September 1980	Darlington	H	4–2	2,158	Keenan (2), Allen, Farrell
27 September 1980	Bury	A	1–2	2,341	Keenan
29 September 1980	Stockport County	H	2–0	2,835	Beech, Allen
4 October 1980	York City	A	1–4	2,025	Griffiths
6 October 1980	Torquay United	H	3–1	2,091	o.g., Beech, Griffiths (pen)
11 October 1980	Tranmere Rovers	H	5–1	2,820	Bromage (2), M.Chamberlain (2), Allen
18 October 1980	Bradford City	A	1–2	2,843	Bromage
22 October 1980	Hereford United	A	3–2	2,101	M.Chamberlain (2), Beech
25 October 1980	Hartlepool United	H	1–1	3,072	Bromage
27 October 1980	Bournemouth	H	0–2	3,009
1 November 1980	Peterborough United	A	1–1	3,648	o.g.
5 November 1980	Torquay United	A	0–4	1,227
8 November 1980	Rochdale	H	1–1	2,774	Bowles
10 November 1980	Southend United	H	1–0	2,780	Allen
15 November 1980	Doncaster Rovers	A	0–2	2,422
5 December 1980	Crewe Alexandra	H	2–2	4,154	Beech, N.Chamberlain
20 December 1980	Halifax Town	A	2–2	1,215	o.g., Woolfall
26 December 1980	Lincoln City	H	0–1	4,239
27 December 1980	Northampton Town	A	1–5	2,978	N.Chamberlain
10 January 1981	Hartlepool United	A	0–3	3,116
24 January 1981	Mansfield Town	A	0–5	3,864
31 January 1981	Wimbledon	H	2–3	2,372	Miller (2 [1 pen])
7 February 1981	Aldershot	A	0–0	2,598
14 February 1981	Wigan Athletic	H	3–0	3,214	Miller, Sproson, N.Chamberlain
21 February 1981	Bury	H	1–3	2,831	N.Chamberlain
24 February 1981	Scunthorpe United	A	1–1	1,878	M.Chamberlain
3 March 1981	Scunthorpe United	H	2–2	2,277	Miller, M.Chamberlain
7 March 1981	York City	H	2–0	2,319	Bennett (pen), M.Chamberlain
16 March 1981	Hereford United	H	4–0	2,379	Bowles (2), M.Chamberlain, Armstrong
24 March 1981	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–1	1,422	Beech, N.Chamberlain
28 March 1981	Bournemouth	A	0–0	4,665
4 April 1981	Peterborough United	H	1–1	2,982	Armstrong
12 April 1981	Rochdale	A	1–2	2,590	Bowles
14 April 1981	Bradford City	H	2–1	2,221	N.Chamberlain, Sproson
18 April 1981	Northampton Town	H	1–1	2,371	Sproson
20 April 1981	Lincoln City	A	0–1	3,784
26 April 1981	Halifax Town	H	0–0	2,301
1 May 1981	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–0	4,634
5 May 1981	Darlington	A	1–1	1,576	M.Chamberlain

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	22 November 1980	Bradford City	H	4–2	4,022	N.Chamberlain (2), Bennett (pen), Beech
R2	13 December 1980	Burnley	A	1–1	7,497	Miller
R2 Replay	16 December 1980	Burnley	H	2–0	7,722	Farrell, M.Chamberlain
R3	3 January 1981	Enfield	H	1–1	5,538	Beech
R3 Replay	6 January 1981	Enfield	A	0–3	6,499

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	9 August 1980	Tranmere Rovers	H	2–3	2,651	N.Chamberlain (2)
R1 2nd Leg	12 August 1980	Tranmere Rovers	A	1–0	2,386	Bromage

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK Trevor Dance 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 GK Steve Cherry 4 0 4 0 0 0 8 0 GK Mark Harrison 24 0 1 0 0 0 25 0 GK Brian Lloyd 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 DF Neil Griffiths 21 3 2 0 2 0 25 3 DF Phil Sproson 44 3 4 0 2 0 50 3 DF Gerry Keenan 12 3 0 0 1 0 13 3 DF Lee Harwood 4 0 0 0 2 0 6 0 DF Paul Bowles 44 4 5 0 0 0 49 4 DF Trevor Brissett 41 0 3 0 1 0 45 0 DF Andy Higgins 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 MF Kenny Beech 45 5 5 2 2 0 52 7 MF Russell Bromage 45 4 5 0 2 1 52 5 MF Mark Chamberlain 31 9 5 1 0 0 36 10 MF Peter Farrell 25 1 4 1 1 0 30 2 MF Ian Elsby 17 0 5 0 1 0 23 0 MF Johnny Miller 26 4 5 1 0 0 31 5 MF Terry Armstrong 17 2 0 0 0 0 17 2 MF Paul Bennett 26 1 4 1 0 0 30 2 MF Lee Jenkins 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 FW Neville Chamberlain 35 9 5 2 2 2 42 13 FW Alan Woolfall 11 1 0 0 0 0 11 1 FW Steve Jones 10 1 2 0 2 0 14 1 FW John Allen 18 4 0 0 2 0 20 4

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Neville Chamberlain 13 Mark Chamberlain 10 Kenny Beech 7 Russell Bromage 5 Johnny Miller John Allen 4 Paul Bowles Neil Griffiths 3 Phil Sproson Gerry Keenan Terry Armstrong 2 Peter Farrell Paul Bennett Alan Woolfall 1 Steve Jones League Scorer Goals Neville Chamberlain 9 Mark Chamberlain Kenny Beech 5 Russell Bromage 4 Johnny Miller John Allen Paul Bowles Neil Griffiths 3 Phil Sproson Gerry Keenan Terry Armstrong 2 Peter Farrell 1 Paul Bennett Alan Woolfall Steve Jones

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1980	FW		John Allen	Leicester City	Free transfer	[3]
May 1980	DF		Trevor Brissett	Stoke City	Free transfer	[3]
September 1980	MF		Johnny Miller	Mansfield Town	Free transfer	[3]
November 1980	MF		Lee Jenkins	Aston Villa	Free transfer	[3]
February 1981	MF		Terry Armstrong	Huddersfield Town	Free transfer	[3]
February 1981	DF		Andy Higgins	Chesterfield	Free transfer	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
October 1980	GK		Trevor Dance	Stafford Rangers	£10,000	[3]
April 1981	FW		John Allen	Hinckley Athletic	Free transfer	[3]
April 1981	MF		Lee Jenkins	RoPS	Free transfer	[3]
April 1981	FW		Steve Jones		Released	[3]
May 1981	MF		Ian Elsby	Macclesfield Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1981	DF		Neil Griffiths	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	[3]
May 1981	FW		Alan Woolfall	Marine	Free transfer	[3]
August 1981	MF		Kenny Beech	Walsall	£10,000	[3]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
November 1980	GK		Steve Cherry	Derby County	January 1981	[3]
February 1981	GK		Brian Lloyd	Chester City	Summer 1981	[3]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
September 1980	GK		Trevor Dance	Stafford Rangers	October 1980	[3]

References

Specific

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Port Vale 1980–1981 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

• Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.